Everything AND the kitchen sink: Audit finds over $137,000 in questionable expenses at Payne Co. Sheriff’s Office

PAYNE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd said Thursday a forensic audit report for the Payne County Sheriff’s Office found over $137,000 in misappropriated and questionable expenses made by an administrative assistant for more than a decade.

The audit found that, between 2010 and 2022, an administrative assistant was responsible for a total of $137,698.52 in misappropriated and questioned expenditures.

She is accused of misappropriating $82,176.54 by using a Sheriff’s Office credit card and submitting altered and/or fabricated invoices for payment.

“This employee was spending taxpayer money for her own expenses including, literally, the kitchen sink,” Auditor Cindy Byrd said. “She also bought decorations. She bought some car repairs. She used the sheriff’s credit card to pay for personal hotel stays. It was just a mix of different things that she used for personal use.”

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The Payne County Board of County Commissioners requested the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office (SA&I) to investigate the financial activity of a Sheriff’s Office employee.

Byrd said $55,521.98 worth of her purchases were designated as questioned costs because, although the purchases appear improper, they went through the payment process and were approved by an authorized official.

“Once we got in and started looking at these expenditures, we found the biggest breakdown was that this administrator had the sheriff’s signature stamp in her custody. She had had the previous two sheriff’s signature stamps, and she had used the signature stamps to unlawfully authorize purchases that appeared to personally benefit her… It made it look like it was legitimate, like someone other than herself had approved these items,” said Byrd. “Our team of investigators worked long hours to thoroughly review thirteen years’ worth of financial records. Ironically, the SA&I has conducted training sessions for years on the proper use of signature stamps. We have advised and encouraged government officials across Oklahoma to restrict access to their signature stamps. In this case, it would appear our advice and encouragement was ignored.”

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In addition to the misappropriated and questioned purchases, the assistant’s pay exceeded her authorized salary which resulted in questioned costs of $20,282.22. Per the Payne County employee handbook, administrative positions are exempt from overtime pay. Her position was considered administrative yet she received overtime compensation with the approval of county officials.

“She turned in overtime payments, even though the county’s personnel manual was clear that her position was exempt. By exempt, I mean that she was not allowed to work holidays or overtime without prior approval. But because those timesheets were submitted and it had the sheriff’s signature stamp or other approvals on it, this was paid,” said Byrd.

Byrd adds there were three sheriffs in the office during that time.

The final audit report has been delivered to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney’s office.

The Payne County Sheriff’s Office sent KFOR the following:

The full audit is posted on the Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector’s official website.

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